


walk me home.

by legally_blonde



Series: Jukebox Love Story [9]
Category: That '70s Show
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24926971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legally_blonde/pseuds/legally_blonde
Summary: There's something in the way Hyde rolls his eyes, takes Jackie back to a better time.
Relationships: Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde
Series: Jukebox Love Story [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1728451
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	walk me home.

**Walk Me Home**

* * *

_There’s something in the way you roll your eyes, takes me back to a better time_

_When I saw everything is good, but now you’re the only thing that’s good_

_Tryna stand up on my own two feet, this conversation ain’t comin’ easily_

_& darling I know it’s getting late, so what do you say we leave this place?_

* * *

Hyde walked into the bar and let out a small sigh of relief when he spotted the tiny brunette sitting at the end of the bar, sliding her drink back and forth between her hands. He wasn’t proud that it took him a while to figure out where she ran off to, he just never expected her here again.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she said as he sat down next to her.

“Funny, I was thinking the same about you. What brings you to this neck of the woods?”

“Dunno,” she shrugged, still not looking at him. “Wanted a drink.”

“At a bar that is across town from your apartment. A bar that you hated and made me promise to never bring you here again,” he said, rolling his eyes at her.

“It has a certain charm,” Jackie said, finally looking at him. He could tell that she had been crying from the redness and puffiness of her eyes.

“What’s going on, doll?”

“My life is just falling apart, no big deal,” she said quietly. “My father is going to prison. My mother ran off and married some rich stranger in Europe. My ex just posted his engagement on Instagram. We’ve been broken up for five months and we dated for three years. Oh, and on top of all this, I’m being kicked out of my apartment because the landlord sold the building. I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe. I’m Jackie fucking Burkhart. I don’t deserve this.”

“It sucks,” was all he said. He didn’t know what to do, what to say. He never had a relationship that lasted this long, he never got to the part when things got bad.

They’ve only been dating a few months. Hyde had officially asked Jackie to be his girlfriend last month. They were taking things extra slow since Hyde had no idea how to be someone’s boyfriend and Jackie was wary about a new relationship after her last one. They haven’t even spent the night at each other’s apartment yet, that’s how slow it’s been. So Hyde was extremely out of his depth with all this and wasn’t sure what to do.

“It’ll be fine, I guess.”

“What can I do,” he asked, resting his hand on her thigh. “I’m here.”

“Walk me home?” she asked as she rested her head on his shoulder. “After a few more drinks, walk me home.”

“Okay,” he said, pressing a kiss on top of her head before pulling out his credit card. “Another round.”

* * *

It was a beautiful summer night, so Hyde decided they would take the scenic route back to Jackie’s apartment. She was uncharacteristically quiet as she held on to his arm like her life depended on it. He figured with the amount she drank, she’d be her normal chatty, annoying self, but she wasn’t and he was worried.

“So, uh, why did your dad get pinched?”

“He had some crafty ways to get money over the years,” she said. “I never knew anything about it until I got much older, and that’s just because I started to figure things out on my own. That and rumors swirling around about my family. I just thought people were jealous. I’m such an idiot.” 

“No, you’re a strange combo of naïve and vain,” he said, hoping to get to her smile or punch him, but neither happened. “And your mom is gone?”

“She texted me this morning that my dad got arrested, his money is gone, and she was heading to Ibiza with some guy she met online because he sounded rich.”

“Sounds like a safe plan,” he said with a nod.

“My life is a joke,” Jackie said with a sigh. “I have until the end of the month to move out and find a new apartment. It takes me forever to pick out a nail polish color, Steven. A month is not enough time to find an apartment.”

“I’ll help you,” he offered. “We can start looking tomorrow.”

“Things just got so bad so fast,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “Like, I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. What more wrong can possibly happen?”

“It’ll be okay,” he said, clearing his throat that had tightened up as he realized he was about to tell her stuff about him he never told anyone. “My parents split when I was young.”

“Like divorced? That’s not so bad, right? Two homes, two rooms to decorate.”

“I barely had one room, Jackie,” he said with a chuckle. “No, like they left me. They were both alcoholics. My dad had a serious gambling problem on top of it. One night he just left, and my mom blamed me. She eventually left too.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said, rubbing his arm comfortingly. “How old were you?”

“Fourteen,” he said and she gasped. “It worked out to my benefit, in the end. The Forman’s were nice enough to take me in, even though they had two kids of their own. Wasn’t easy though.”

“That explains why you and Eric are so close,” she said, smiling up at him. “I never really understood the dynamic with your friends. You’re all so different.”

“They’re family,” he said simply. “Um, I never told anyone that, so if you could keep that to yourself.”

“I wouldn’t tell a soul,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Shitty parents suck. It fucks you up more than you realize.”

“You seem pretty well-adjusted.”

“Please,” she scoffed. “I’m a Type A bitch with anxiety over finding the balance between impressing everyone so they’re proud/jealous of me and not caring what people think. I think that’s why I care so much about Mark getting engaged.”

“You realize that engagement is either going to end before the wedding or they’re going to get divorced.”

“I know, but like what was wrong with me? We dated for three years and he never once mentioned marriage, and now he met this bimbo and pops the question? I always wanted to get married, I still do.”

“Just to be clear, I’m not proposing any time soon,” Hyde said quickly and she rolled her eyes.

“Duh, Steven. I’m just saying,” she said. “It’s hard not to blame myself.”

“I like to think things happen for a reason,” he said after a few minutes of silence between them. They were a few blocks away from her apartment. “Had you not broken up with that moron Mark, we wouldn’t have met.”

“That’s true,” she said, letting go of his arm to slide her hand in his. “You are the one good thing I have in my life right now.”

“Really?” he asked, genuinely surprised because he’s always felt like a burden to everyone in his life.

“That’s why I was at that bar tonight. It was where we had our first date. I needed the reminder of being happy and things in my life being good.”

Steven didn’t know how to respond to that, and they reached Jackie’s apartment quicker than he anticipated. She turned to face him and stood up on her toes to kiss him. He held her close as he hugged her and felt her smile against his chest.

“You should move in with me,” he said and heard her gasp. “I mean, until you find a new place. You won’t have to rush to pick a new place, and I have the space. I can clear out my spare room so you can put a bed in there.”

“Are you sure? That’s a pretty big step, even if it is temporary,” she said, pulling back to look at him.

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure,” he said, truly meaning it which shocked him, and kissed her forehead. “Sleep on it, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Steven wait,” she said, grabbing him to keep him from leaving. “Stay with me tonight.”

“You sure?”

“I don’t want to be alone,” she said, tugging on his hand. “It’s also late, I don’t want you walking back alone.” 

“I can just hitch a cab.”

“Please, I want you here,” she said, looking up at him with her big eyes. “I feel better with you here.”

“Okay,” he said, following her inside.

“Besides, if we’re going to temporarily be living together, it’s better to learn sooner rather than later that I’m a monster in the mornings.”

“More so than usual,” he asked with a smirk and she scoffed in offense. “Are you one of those chicks who put green gunk on your face before bed?”

“They’re called face masks, Steven, and they come in a variety of colors. I will teach you the value of skincare.”

“Already regretting this,” he groaned as he sat down on her couch. He pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her on the lips sweetly. “Jackie.”

“Hm,” she hummed, closing her eyes as she cuddled into his chest.

“You’re one of the best things to happen to me,” he said quietly.

In that moment, Jackie knew she loved this man and was going to spend the rest of her life with him. Deep down, Hyde knew the same.

* * *

_Walk me home in the dead of night_

_I can’t be alone with all that’s on my mind_

_So say you’ll stay with me tonight_

_‘Cause there is so much wrong going on outside_

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all liked this. I know so many of you asked for another chapter in the "get me some of that" world & I had actually had this finished already, so I hope it lived up to expectations.


End file.
